| |
Mexico and Montreat trip
Youth on a summer trip taking steps to finding their faith.
Summertime gives young people a chance to find themselves and their faith. Last summer I traveled with a group of nine youth, and we felt it was an opportunity to take a couple of steps toward finding our faith. Our group worked for God, learned about God, and really got a different perspective on life during those two weeks. During this short time we traveled to two very different places that challenged us and helped us grow in faith. I definitely was challenged by God and became a stronger Christian because of this experience.
Honestly, I wasn’t ready for this opportunity; I was ready to stay home and relax for the first two weeks of summer. I was actually dreading it because I knew I would miss all the gossip and drama that would go down here at home. It’s hard to be sixteen years old and miss out on summer events! But I went anyway. During the second week of June, eighteen of us from Second Presbyterian Church went to Mexico to participate in the Puentes de Cristo border mission; one week later half of the mission group plus forty more youth from our church went to Montreat, North Carolina, for the high school conference.
In Mexico we learned from the people in the community about the customs they followed. They were very welcoming and they taught me a lot. A typical day in Mexico was waking up early, having our leader of the day give us the details of our daily activities, and hearing our youth minister give us questions to think about during the day. We would work (dig ditches, pour concrete, build roofs), have lunch, then work some more. After working all day, we looked forward to returning to our dorm and playing soccer with the local children. The kids loved to play soccer in the street and we loved being with them. Our minister even taught the kids the Hokey Pokey! That was probably the best part — just being entertained and having fun with the younger generation in the neighborhood. In Mexico I learned that it’s better to be rich in love, family and Christ than in material things.
After a week experiencing intense heat, living
among poverty and wearing old clothes, we journeyed
to Montreat, North Carolina. Montreat is a place where people who are privileged (such as those who live in
air-conditioned homes and wear designer clothing) go to learn about God. It was kind of back to the real world for me, being around people who were just like me. It was a huge cultural shock to a lot of us who went from Mexico to Montreat, basically going from dirt-poor surroundings to millions of dollars all around us. I felt it was good and bad. The good part of it was if I had gone straight home it would be hard to reflect on Mexico because there are
SO many distractions at home, but with Montreat, God’s presence was stronger and that made the transition for me easier. Plus, I was with the youth who went to Mexico and other youth who didn’t, so I could share and reflect with both groups. It was the PERFECT place to go after such an overwhelming experience.
Mexico and Montreat are totally different places,
but they have something major in common — the strong presence of God. Both are very good places for a young person like me to figure out answers to some of my questions about life. I would go back to Mexico and Montreat in a heartbeat. As different as they are, they helped me get back on the path that is my Christian life.
I am glad I went to both Mexico and Montreat because they showed me that God is everywhere, not just in Louisville, Kentucky. No matter where you are or how privileged you are, God is going to love you, forgive you and be with you. |
|
